Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the Grimwood Sisters
by Jay-Washington
Summary: Twenty-five years ago, a group of students from Miskatonic University known as Mystery Incorporated introduced magic to humanity before mysteriously disappearing from their college campus. Now the citizens of Coolsville live in a world fraught with real and fake monsters alike, and the role of the city's newest gang of mystery solvers still remains open. (Mostly features OCs!)


He wasn't ready to die.

As luck would have it, he would be first. He didn't feel any more special than the others, but Cipher had singled him out anyway. Fred liked to think that the Cipher wanted to take out the strongest of the group first. While amusing, in the end, this thought still brought him no extra comfort.

But he couldn't think about death right now, couldn't allow himself the luxury of being worried about his own life. Or, more rather, it was that Fred couldn't afford to waste any of the remaining time he had left thinking about himself. There were other lives at stake, lives that he had to put before his own. Lives that they all had to put before their own.

This was the thought that kept Fred going as he led his friends towards the basement. No one had locked the door after their last visit; Fred twisted the old knob and stepped back to hold the door open. "Hurry, gang, we don't have much time," he said as his friends filed past him. He waited until Scooby had passed by before shutting the door and locking it. "Daphne, get us some light; Velma, find the spell; Shaggy, Scooby, draw the rune."

Fred pressed his forehead against the door and closed his eyes, listening to the emptiness beyond the door. He took a deep breath through his nose, the exhalation coming out in a breath as shaky as his nerves. With surprising force, he struck his fist against the door. As his hand slowly slid back down to his side, Fred realized that the silence beyond the door had found its way into the room as well. He waited until he heard the sound of Daphne striking a match before he went to join his friends at the bottom of the stairs.

Scooby began to whimper so much that it made it even harder for him to use the chalk between his teeth. Fred was surprised Scooby had made it this long without breaking down. But then again, Scooby didn't know all the things that Fred did, so why would he have any reason to break down? Still, Fred thought it would be unfair to make Scooby suffer any more than he had to. He rubbed the Great Dane on top of his head and grabbed the chalk.

Velma had the spell book open to what Fred assumed was the correct page. With her left hand, she clutched the book to her chest; with her right, she held Shaggy's original drawing of the rune out for him to see. Daphne lit another candle and went to stand beside Velma to add more light.

Fred kept his head down as he drew the symbols inside of the sections Shaggy had already drawn. He wasn't as skilled at drawing as Shaggy was, but he doubted the Ancient Ones—or whatever higher power was controlling this cycle—would be picky about it. Or maybe they would be. Who knew? He hoped not, at least.

He stepped back after he finished drawing the last symbol. As luck would have it, it was his own, the dolphin. He remembered how he'd felt about the dolphin when the symbol had first chosen him all those months ago—pissed that Shaggy had been chosen by the lion and not him.

But Fred didn't need the power and courage of the lion now; he needed elegance. He needed the grace and composure that the dolphin gave him to get through this. His friends needed that from him, too.

Daphne grabbed his hand as a door above them slammed. Fred held his breath as he listened to the footsteps gradually fade out of earshot.

"Like, he shouldn't be here yet," said Shaggy in a quivering voice. He glanced up toward the dirt ceiling. "Why is he already here?"

"Freddie," Daphne whispered, "what do we do now?"

Fred opened his mouth to say something, but realized, with a sinking heart, that he couldn't find his voice. Grace and composure had yet to grasp him the way he needed it too.

"It doesn't matter if he's already here," Velma said sternly. She stepped into the section of chalk that bore her symbol—the tower. "We continue the plan as normal."

Fred cleared his throat, drawing the others' attention. "Velma's right, gang. We knew the risk when we started this and we know what will happen if we don't finish."

He fixed his gaze on the stoic girl across from him as he stood on the chalky dolphin. She didn't seem very comforted by his words, but he hadn't been talking to her. She'd probably already come to terms with their fate long before Fred had even begun to think about it as a possibility. The harsher realities of life had never been what Velma had needed help swallowing.

Velma held out her hand to Shaggy, who smiled softly as he took it. Fred turned to look at Scooby as Daphne reached out for Velma. The Great Dane glanced between the chalk circle and the dirt ceiling, a low whimper emitting from his throat.

For a moment, Fred considered the alternative again. The Oracle had showed him two paths: the one he was on now that led to his death and another that would ensure at least the temporary survival of him and his friends. _Most_ of his friends.

He forced himself to look away from Scooby as Shaggy nudged the dog into the middle of the circle. He could end this now—or at least buy some more time for them to finish this mystery themselves. Cipher didn't need

The sound of Scooby's voice, laced with his signature thick accent, forced him out of his thoughts: "Rill it rurt?"

"Like, Velma would never hurt you, bud," Shaggy said gently. He rubbed the top of his dog's head fondly and looked up at Velma for reassurance.

Velma pushed her glasses up her nose and nodded. "If there was a chance that this spell would harm you, we wouldn't be doing it, Scooby."

The whimper that came from Scooby this time was higher. Fred felt that he'd aimed it straight for his heart. "You romise, Raggy?"

Shaggy swallowed as the sound of an enraged shriek reverberated from the walls. Fred knew what that meant—his trap was working, at least for the time being. As soon as he managed to break free—which wouldn't be long—he would know to look for them downstairs. Shaggy must've come to the same conclusion, because when he smiled this time, he looked less convinced. "Like, I promise, buddy."

"I see what's going on here," said Daphne suddenly. She elbowed Fred and gave him a quick wink. "This is all a ploy to get another Scooby Snack from Fred, isn't it?"

Without giving much thought to his actions, Fred reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumbly biscuit. He tried not to falter as he felt the floorboards shake beneath him. "You're not fooling anyone, Scoob. But I'll tell you what—you get through the spell, I'll give you the Scooby Snack."

"Like, you can do that, right, buddy," Shaggy asked as he stood up and clasped Fred's hand.

Scooby glanced at the others and held his head up high. "Right."

Velma took in a deep breath of air and squeezed her eyes shut. Fred didn't dare say anything. Though incredibly knowledgeable, Velma had never been a powerful spellcaster and this was her biggest spell yet.

She let out the breath in a whisper: " _Etheendo Agoictum_."

It took Fred several moments of silence to realize that nothing was happening. He shared the briefest looks of terror with Velma before Daphne said, "Is something wrong, Velma?"

Shaggy glanced back nervously as dirt fell on him from above. "Like, where are the magic sparkles?"

"I-I—" Velma shook her head back and forth viciously. "I don't understand. It should've worked."

"Do it again," Fred suggested.

"But, but," she said, "I did everything right the first time."

He leaned forward and caught her eye again. "It's okay, Velms. We believe in you," he said slowly, calmly.

She took another deep breath to steady her nerves and squeezed Shaggy's hand. " _E-etheendo Agoictum_."

Still nothing.

For the first time in his life, Fred saw Velma actually tremble. The Tower was finally crumbling. Her hand came up over her mouth to hold back her sobs as the door to the basement slammed open. He turned around and was surprised to see that Shaggy had taken a defensive stance as well.

He couldn't see Cipher yet— _always the drama queen_ —but he knew that the dark wizard was at the top of the stairs. He felt Daphne's hand on his shoulder and squeezed it for support.

"What do we do now, Freddie," Daphne whispered.

"I-I don't know."

 **A/N: We'll get to see the next generation in the following chapters, but for now...I'd love to hear you guys' thoughts!**


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